FANNY Movie Review

César (Raimu) is a cafe owner in Marseilles whose son, Marius (Pierre Fresnay) is in love with Fanny (Orane Demazis). Fanny is terrified that Marius will abandon her because of his love for the sea, and soon her fears are realized. Soon after, when Fanny realizes that she's pregnant by Marius, she agrees to marry an understanding and loving friend who's willing to give the child his name. Two decades later, it is that now-grown child who sets in motion the enormously satisfying conclusion to this remarkable trilogy of films, each written and produced by the great Marcel Pagnol. Though each part was fashioned by a different director—Marius was directed by Alexander Korda in 1931, Fanny by Marc Allegret in 1932, and César by Pagnol himself in 1933—the films as a whole all have the same full-bodied, richly lived-in quality that makes immersion into the trilogy an unforgettable emotional journey. Pagnol insisted on bringing his cameras from the film studios of Paris to Provence, and thanks to his use of natural sounds and settings, the brilliant performers seem to blend into their environment with a natural, vividly real quality that gives life and breath to each moment of the trilogy's seven hours. The subject of assorted remakes over the years—including Joshua Logan's limp, 1960 Fanny with Leslie Caron and Maurice Chevalier—Pagnol's monumental trilogy has stood the test of time not only dramatically, but as a reminder of the unparalleled power with which the cinematic image can transport us to another time and another place, and make it live again.

NEXT STOP … Harvest, The Baker's Wife, Letters from My Windmill

1932 128m/B FR Raimu, Charpin, Orane Demazis, Pierre Fresnay, Alida Rauffe; D: Marc Allegret; W: Marcel Pagnol; M: Vincent Scotto. VHS, LV INT, MRV, HHT